The legacy of Freddie

The King is dead, long live the King.

Yes, Andrew Flintoff has departed the Test match arena for the last time and England will have to do without the man whose Herculean efforts over the last 6 or 7 years have propelled his country to glorious heights, even if there were some forgettable lows scattered inbetween. Statistically, he won't be remembered as one of the game's great players and when you consider his all round talents, a feeling resides of what might have been. But the Lancastrian leaves a sizeable impact on England cricket fans and will be held in the highest esteem, regardless of how little five wicket hauls he took.

The memories are plentiful.

His spell to Jacques Kallis at Edgbaston in 2008 as he tried single handed to drag England back into a Test match; His pugnacious twin fifties at Mumbai in 2006 where he took on the responsibility of captaining an injury depleted side with aplomb; That breathtaking 95 at The Oval against South Africa in 2003, dragging England from simply a 'good' score into a match winning one. The list of memories Flintoff's cricket has created is both mightily impressive and lengthy.

And who can ignore his greatest moments, saved for the greatest enemy of all? Ashes contests brought the best out of Freddie, none more so than 2005 where he rose above himself time and again to deliver the most cherished of all cricketing achievements for his country. It's no surprise Adam Gilchrist spent his 2005 nights unable to think of anything else but the tall paceman steaming in towards him from around the wicket and delivering searing out-swingers time after time. If ever Flintoff did earn the term 'legend', it was in this series.

2009 may not have brought as much personal glory but he had his moments. The devastating spell on the final day at Lords, where he moved earth, wind and fire to bring victory for his country. The blistering 74 at Edgbaston where he batted as if to put the Australians back in their place. The fantastic run out of Ricky Ponting on that last day where he came from nowhere in the game to stamp his own influence on proceedings.

He may not be an all rounder to compete historically with the likes of Ian Botham, Imran Khan or Richard Hadlee, whose exploits are the stuff of cricketing legend. But what Flintoff leaves to the English game is a legacy of popularity and drama. His personality endeared him to many a worldwide cricket fan and he played the game in the best spirit possible. Rarely flustered, always with a smile on his face, Flintoff made cricket look fun more than any other player in his generation. Sometimes wickets fell as a result of his sheer force rather than cricketing skill.

No matter who eventually replaces him in the England set up, his all round talents will be greatly sought after for years to come.

Speaking of replacements, attention has inevitably turned to who should fill Freddie's giant shoes. Stuart Broad is in the process of being hyped up to gigantic proportions by the media but, at 23, he needs time to mature and develop. No one can doubt his potential but what England fans crave is a big hitting middle order batsman and a fast, relentless pace bowler. Broad isn't yet either one of these. He needs to spend more time developing his potency as a bowler and, in time, his batting can be worked upon to attain the middle order temperament he so craves.

There's another two young guns waiting in the wings who would seem in a possible position to assume Flintoff's role. Adil Rashid is a much talked about leg spinning all rounder with bags of promise. He has limited England experience, having played in the World Twenty20 earlier this summer, is a prodigious turner of the ball and can bat as high as number 7. He seems destined to have an England future sooner or later, having been touted to play in this summer's Ashes contest.

And for all the arguments that it's too soon to play him, there remains the distinct possibility that holding him back will do him no good. Perhaps it's time to see if he's as good as we all pray he is. He certainly ticks all the boxes in the all rounder category. His one 'limitation' perhaps is that he is a spinner and not a terrorising fast bowler in the Flintoff mould. Playing him would effectively mean England go into games with two spinners and three pacemen, which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing on certain surfaces - it just may leave them short of express pace.

Another burgeoning talent is Sussex's Luke Wright, a dashing middle order batsman and improving seam bowler. Wright has been in and around England's one day setup for a few years now, having been tried in a number of batting positions and having failed to make a consistant impression. However, two County Championship centuries this year have led to calls for him to be given a chance to step up too Test level and, provided he learns to rein in the sometimes mindless stroke play that has inhibited his one-day batting, he looks like he can be a decent enough batsman. His bowling is coming along nicely - initially considered as medium pace, Wright is starting to hit the enviable heights of the mid 80's, in terms of mph. He already possesses a superb yorker length ball and, if he can step up in pace a notch, he could just be the bowler England desire.

However, with both candidates comes an element of risk. Whatever they achieve or fail to achieve will invariably be hung up next to Flintoff's imposing stature. And it will take time and steady performances to properly fill the void. But perhaps this is precisely the new ethos of this England team. Keep our feet on the ground, regardless of what we achieve, and build steadily towards getting better and better. Whoever takes Flintoff's place, it may be a case of giving them time to blend into the role and not getting too critical or too praising.

Still, it's an exciting time for this brilliantly inconsistent but promising England team, who head to South Africa in November to try and further the progress made this summer. It's a time for blooding new players and Wright and Rashid will almost certainly be on the tour at the very least if England want them to succeed. But for now fans should bask in the memories of the great Andrew Flintoff. He may not have been perfect but nothing should give fans greater pleasure than seeing reruns of him shattering Peter Siddle's stumps to gain his fifth wicket at Lords in the Second Test last month.

A fantastic player and a thoroughly decent bloke, Flintoff was and is one of a kind.